Stable dispenser package



J1me 1964 s. LlPscHu'rz ETAL 3,137,433

STABLE DISPENSER PACKAGE Filed May 15, 1961 Z Sheets-Sheet 1 68 INVENTORS. 64 SIDNEY LIPSCHUTZ EDWARD H. BARNETT 6 BY Canaan/MW AT TOR/V575.

J1me 16, 1964 s. LIPSCHUTZ ETAL 3,137,433

STABLE DISPENSER PACKAGE Filed May 15, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

I gill]! 1111111111111!- INVENTORSI SIDNEY LIPSCHUTZ BY EDWARD H. BARNETT ATTORNEYS.

United States Patent This invention relates to containers for corrosive liquids and, more particularly, it relates to containers of the multiple unit type.

It has been the prior practice in the industry to package corrosive liquids such as acids or alkaline materials in containers consisting of a relatively rigid outer u'mt made of fiberboard enclosing a flexible inner unit of non cor rosive material such as polyethylene, cellulose acetate and the like. v

One of the flexible inner units heretofore used has con sisted of a tubular member sealed completely along its inner bag would not slide bottom edge and also sealed along its top edge except for a spout member extending therefrom which is not sealed until the bag has been filled.

Another flexible unit heretofore used has consisted of w an outer bag and inner bag positioned thjerein, the two bags being secured together with a common seal along the bottom edge thereof. The seals in the foregoing bags have generally comprised two closely spaced parallel seals separated bya small airspace rather thana' single line of sealing. g

In' other applications, the spout has, been eliminated and instead, the flexible inner container. was initially sealed along its entire top and bottom edges. Thereafter, an upper cornerwas cut off topermit the corrosive liquid to be dispensed into the package and,.iin all'y, a seal wa formed adjacent the upper corner. 7 v

Corrosive liquids packaged'in'the foregoing manner are dispensed. by' means of a probe of t he nature of the device disclosed and'claimedin pending application Serial No. 845,851 filed October 12, 1959. The probe is thrust directly throughthe wall ofthe relatively rigid outer containerlfiberboard box) and then continues to penetrate through the flexible wall or walls of the inner container. The pla'sti'c. memory of the material comprising the flexible bag tightly adheres about the probe, and the" corrosive liquid contained in the flexible bag mayflow onlythrough the probe and then through av hose securedtq the probe tobe dispensedas desired. Clamping means are positioned about the hose at a desired point' to control the dispensing of the corrosive liquid- The foregoing probe constitutes. a yerysi'mple and high:

ly eifecti e means of great. safety. for dispensing corrosive liquids. However, as previously stated, the inner containeror containers are necessarily flexib1e; Thus, it has been found .in a'ctual praetice' that whenithefprobe is inserted .through the wall. of" the rigid, Container and corner of the flexible container'was secured to 3,137,433 Patented June 16,

ice

previously folded inner flaps to complete the packaging. Thus the spout was interposed between the-inner and outer flaps ofthe rigid container in the fully assembled package and the probe was thrust into the relatively rigid c ntainer at ,a point closely adjacent tothe folded andin'tefi posed flap. Hence, the flexible container adjacent the entry of probe is held fast in position, angl p'enetra'tion of the probe is accomplished at a substantial right angle.

However, ,the foregoing device necessitated a filling spout. Moreover, where the flexible inner abstain-er com prisedouter jand inner fiexible bags; the problem of the inner flexible bag' sliding away from the'bu'te'r flexible bag under the pressure of the probe existed to a substan tial degree. i V

The foregoing problems were'eiiectively solved in pending application Serial No.43,53'2 filed July 1'8, 1950, wherein an adhesive surface was interposed along a limited areabetween the inne r and outer bags so that" the away from thepressuie of'the inserted probe. In addition, adhesive tape means were fastened to the outersurface of the flexible container and then led between the folded inner fiaps of the relatively rigid outer container and, finally, over the enter surface ofone of the inner flaps to be secured against thee-rental against the relatiyelyrigid outer contain r. Thus,- there was provided in c'speiidi's ap' Serial No. 105,486} 1116a on April 25, 1961-, new; Patent No. 3,0658%, entitled Imp vd Ms-mph Unit tainer, a fixible inner container comprising an r big and an inner bag sealed regatta-along their jup rand lowerdgs. one of them/er 'eainer's'orrhe bag'was laid upon a bracing member, a ate at relatively rigid maria, si es as c'srrugate earebaar of the giv erai dimensions as a-nteral ere-s3 section or the relatively rigid outer container. Thus, tag-3 erasin member inter}, fitted snugly into the rel-eatery rig'id' diiter ccintairier? A brac ing' member by'fidlie'siye 'tafi; heat seati g flielike'f The bracing inembei' warms folded lie tseiieansitue flexible container with the secure-awn r thereof being carried along with the-folding of the" bracing member-.1

1 The assembly was then positioned inside the relatively plunges still further'against the outer wall of thef flexible' 3 V inner container, the"flexible inner; container has a tend: ency to slide away from the pressure of the robe; Hence, the insertion of the probe may be rendered ijnpre diflicult and,- also, the piercing oftlie acute angle rather than the preferred right angle entr Hence, insertion of the-pr bernaybe a priest) that leakage around the probe will'occur;

The flap vwasthenfoldetlin a convention al mannerupon e may be such that'the probe enters the ba'gjat a' r'elatiyely small ifafispb jarrin'g and shaking- 'atiofex ri are transported, as for instan rigid' dutercoritainer', the flexible inner container' fllled and sealed in a well-known manner and the upper flaps of the relatively rigid outer container positioned in a: conventional manner. Dispensing; was eifect'ed adjacent the lower sideof the relatively frigid outer containergnear the folded corner ofthe fiexiblebag. a i- Th foregoing technique constituted a very satis factory solution to the previously specified problems; H

v' r, ii x as Beer dac vaaii te" d e ead raan raab d w to exper nee a phe; in jtlztigi' polyethylene.

siesseu si othefwls ep H normal weight of the c "tion o' tliepacka e to ingives, rise to an abrading -act-ion Whielf, 1n combination i th the weight of the contained liquid, irresponsible slick.

compressingo'r pressingactionr 'Thetnet result is a te'tid-' enemas ency toward cracking of the polyethylene with but several hours of transportation. This, of course, is quite dangerous as it may lead to a leaking or escape of the corrosive liquid.

It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide a stable dispenser package including a single inner flexible container which will resist the phenomena of stress cracking.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a stable dispenser package which can withstand the stresses involved in transporting the package to the users site.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a stable dispenser package with but a single inner flexible container which will not slide under the force of insertion of the dispensing probe.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a stable dispenser package which avoids the necessity of a filling spout and is sealed at its top and bottom ends.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a stable dispenser package from which liquid may be dispensed either by a dispensing probe or by direct pouring of the contained liquid.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a dispenser package of the aforesaid type which is lines 44 of FIG. 2 with portions broken away for the sake of clarity;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the lines 55 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged side elevational view of the package of FIG. 2, partly broken away to show the internal condition of the package when a portion of the contained liquid has been dispensed therefrom;

' FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view similar to I broken away for the sake of clarity and having a portion relatively simple in construction and inexpensive to man ufacture.

The foregoing, as well as other objects of the invenbracing member to be specified hereinafter, will interfit v snugly into a relatively rigid outer container. The lower corners of the flexible container arethen permanently secured to the lower bracing member by adhesive tape, heat sealing, etc. The assembly is then positioned inside of the relatively rigid router container. An upper corner of the flexible inner bag is cut off to permit the corrosive liquid to be dispensed inside the bag and the corner is then rescaled. Thereafter, an upper bracing strip, similar to the lower bracing strip, is positioned.- to lie upon the filled bag. The upper corners of the bag are folded to lie upon the upper bracing strip and the upper flaps of the relatively rigid outer container are then folded in place to hold the upper corners of the flexible bag in a generally horizontal folded position. are, in turn, held in position by external tape means to complete the packaging. Dispensing may be effected by a dispensing probe or, alternatively, the flexible bag may be adhesively secured to the interior of the relatively rigid outer container so that the upper flaps of the outer container may be unfolded and a corner of'a flexible bag snipped so that the entire package may be raised and the liquid poured therefrom.

Other objects and many-of the attendant advantages of this invention will be readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detaileddescription when consideredin connection with the accompanying drawings wherein: I 1 I' FIG. l is an explodedpersp'ective view" showing the relatively rigid' outer container;

FIG. '2. is a perspective view of the parts flexible bag of the. present inventionwith respect tojthe p r' FIG. 1 in I the fully assembled position with a probe and connecting The upper flaps of the top of the relatively rigid outer container and of the flexible bag removed to permit the liquid to be poured as represented in the figure.

Referring now ingreater detail to the various figures of the drawings wherein similar reference characters refer to similar parts, an improved stable dispenser package embodying the present invention is generally shown at It in FIG. 1. Device 10 basically comprises relatively rigid outer container 12 and flexible inner bag 14 adapted to hold the corrosive liquid and be positioned within rigid container 12. i

As best shown in walls 20 and 22. As best shown in FIGS. 4 andS, relatively short lower'end flaps 24 and 26, respectively, extend from the end walls 20 and 22. End flaps 24.,and

'26 are held in the horizontal position of FIG. 4 by means of lower longitudinal flaps 28 and 30 extending-- from side walls 16 and 18, which are positioned'to lie externally of the end flaps 24 and 26,"as best shown in FIG. 5. External tape 32 secures the respective flaps in the position of FIGS. Similarly, relatively short upper end flaps (FIG. '4)' 34 and 36 extend respectively from the end walls 20and I 22. Upper longitudinal side flaps (FIG. 5) 38 and 40- extending from side walls 16 and 18 are positioned externally of the relatively short flaps iniabntting relationship-for reasons which will'be discussed hereinafter.

External upper tape 42 is secured over the abutment seam a of the flaps 38 and 40, as shown in FIG. 5. p Inner. bag 14 is constructed of polyethylene, cellulose acetate, orsimilar plastic and isessentially a tube with heat seals iformedalong its upper and lower 'edges. ,As

shown in FIG. 1, a lower bracing member 44 of flat sheet well known securing techniques, as for. instance, heat against the lower end flaps 24 and 26'.- The bag 1 4-is1 sealing. The bag assembly of FIGI l'is then positioned within the relatively rigid outer container 12, asbestshown in FIGS. 4 and 5. Thus, it is seen (FIGS.[4' and 5) that the lower bracing member 44 essentially rests thereafter filled with the corrosive liquid in a Well known manner. Onev technique of filling the bag 14 is to ,cut, ofl a portion of the upper edge, to give access to the U inside of the bag, dispense the corrosive liquid intothe l begand resealthe, previously cut edge- T' After the inner bag 14, has been, lled and sealed, upper; bracing rnemberl 54, 'similarin construction to member 1 4 4, is positioned-to lie against the upper seal ofthebag 1 4. Uppercorner's 60 and 53 of bag 14 are then tuckedover the upper bracing member 54 and folded down in- ;a horizontal position, as" indicated in FIG. 4. End flaps fa t-and 36 of the relatively rigid' outer container 12are then folded respectively over the corners 58 and 69 and. the longitudinal flaps 38 andAUare folded'the'r'eover to. complete the packaging. Upper external tape 42fhold's,

the assembly'in the position of FlG, 4. As further shown.

inFIG, 4, the external tapes 32' and 42 may'extend to FIGS. 1 and 3, relatively rigid outer 7 container 12 comprises side Walls 16 and 18 and end terminate against the side walls 20 and 22. Also, it is to be noted that the bracing members 44 and 54 are of a cross section substantially the same as that of the interior of the relatively rigid outer container so that.-

they snugly interfit therein.

The stable dispenser package of the present invention may be used either with a dispensing probe, as shown in FIG. 4, or by simple pouring, as shown in FIG. 8. When a dispensing probe is to be used, such as the one of the previously mentioned prior copending application, it is thrust through the wall 22 of the relatively rigid outer container adjacent the bottom thereof at a point such as indicated spot 62 in FIG. 1. The probe 64 passes through tape 32, side wall 22 and, finally, through the wall of the flexible bag 14 which tightly adheres about the probe by virtue of plastic memory. The probe 64 is locked into position by means of locking member 66 which is interposed between wall 22 and the wall of the flexible bag 14, as discussed in detail in said prior copending application. The corrosive liquid may travel through opening 66 into the hollow bore of the probe 64 and then through attached hose 66 to be dispensed by the release of clamping means (not shown) at the other end of the hose.

As the liquid is dispensed from the probe 64 (FIG. 6),

crack under the expressive forces developed by the jarthan adhesivetapes or adhesive taping may be employed in the present invention. For instance, the corner of the to the bracing mem-' inner container could be heat sealed ber. Moreover, the bracing member may be constructed from well known materials other than corrugated. cardboard, such as, plastics including polyethylene, cellulose acetate and the like, wood, glass, etc.

the upper portion of the bag 14 which is now empty 7 tends to collapse. Such collapsing is enhanced by the weight of upper bracing member 54 which'descends inside the package as the liquid is dispensed. The member 54 is now spaced an appreciable distance from the upper end and side flaps of the relatively rigid outer container and, therefore, upper corners 58 and 60 of the bag 14 are no longer restrained and may now fly free from a horizontal position to assume the inclined position of FIG. 6. Thus, the upper corners of the bag 14 may slip between the ends of the bracing member 54 to enhance the collapsing of the bag 14. This is quite important because the collapsing of the bag 14 prevents the establishment of a vacuum during the emptying process. Such a vacuum would otherwise retard the flow of the liquid from the package.

The contents of bag 14 may be poured where the package of the present invention has been modified, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8. Such modification is effected by providing a centrally disposed lateral adhesive strip 70 which may be a double-faced adhesive tape or a coating applied to the under surface of lower bracing member44. It is obvious that additional adhesive means may be substituted or provided in addition to adhesive strip 70 along the sides of the bag 14. Hence, the liquid may be poured from the package 10 by removing a portion of the upper flaps of the relatively rigid outer container and cutting a corner of the inner flexible bag.

It is thus seen that the present invention effectively solves the problem of the inner flexible container pulling away from the force of the inserted probe, as well as the problem of stress cracking of the-polyethylene bag,

Because lower corner 48 is surely secured beneath lower bracing member 44 and held in such position by the weight of the contained liquid, the vertical wall of the bag 14 adjacent insertion point of the probe 64 is held taut and will not pull away or slide away under the force of the inserted probe. Therefore, .the probe will make a substantially perpendicular penetration through the bag 14.

It is to be further noted that, because the other lower corner of the bag 14, as well as the upper cornersthereof, are tightly held in a generally horizontal position, all of the vertical walls of the bag 14 are held taut. In this manner, the polyethylene does not tend to gather in folds and thus, when the package is jarred as during bracing members.

It is possible toemploy various combinations of the One such combination would be to employ a second lower bracing member which is posi tioned beneath the taped lower corners. Another possi ble variation Is to employ tapes in connection'with the upper corners of the bag aswell as the lower corners of the bag.

Obviously, many modifications and variations of the J possible in the light of the above teachings. It 1s, therefore, to be understood that within present invention are the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.

What is claimed as the invention is:

I A stable dispenser package comprising a relatively Ilgld outer container and a flexible inner container having a liquid sealed therein, said inner containerlhaving a pair of lower corners and a pair of upper corners, a flat lower bracing member which is separated from said outer con- 'tainer and 1s pos1t1oned inside saidouter container and below said inner container, with thelower corners of said inner container positioned between the bottom of said outer container and said bracing member, said lower corners being secured to said lower bracing member, and

a flat upper bracing member, which is separated from said outer contairrenpositioned upon said inner container, with said upper corners positioned between said upper bracing member and the topof said outer container, said bracing members being of substantially the same dimensions as a cross-section of said relatively rigid outer container whereby. said bracing members interfit snugly in said outer container. I

2. The invention of claim 1 wherein said relatively rigid .outer container has a generally rectangular cross-section and said fiat bracing members are of a lar shape.

3. The invention of claim 1 wherein adhesive tape generally rectangu- 'means secure said lower corners to said lower'bracing member. j v

4. The invention of claim 1 including indicia means on the external surface of said outer container to identify the transportation, the overlapping folds which are apt to place of proper insertion of a dispensing probe.

5. The invention of claim 1 including adhering means to secure said inner container to said outer container whereby the contents in said inner container may be directly poured therefrom. I

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS upper bracing member positioned above f Membrino Apr. 10, 1962 

1. A STABLE DISPENSER PACKAGE COMPRISING A RELATIVELY RIGID OUTER CONTAINER AND A FLEXIBLE INNER CONTAINER HAVING A LIQUID SEALED THEREIN, SAID INNER CONTAINER HAVING A PAIR OF LOWER CORNERS AND A PAIR OF UPPER CORNERS, A FLAT LOWER BRACING MEMBER WHICH IS SEPARATED FROM SAID OUTER CONTAINER AND IS POSITIONED INSIDE SAID OUTER CONTAINER AND BELOW SAID INNER CONTAINER, WITH THE LOWER CORNERS OF SAID INNER CONTAINER POSITIONED BETWEEN THE BOTTOM OF SAID OUTER CONTAINER AND SAID BRACING MEMBER, SAID LOWER CORNERS BEING SECURED TO SAID LOWER BRACING MEMBER, AND A FLAT UPPER BRACING MEMBER, WHICH IS SEPARATED FROM SAID OUTER CONTAINER, POSITIONED UPON SAID INNER CONTAINER, WITH SAID UPPER CORNERS POSITIONED BETWEEN SAID UPPER BRACING MEMBERS AND THE TOP OF SAID OUTER CONTAINER, SAID BRACING MEMBERS BEING OF SUBSTANTIALLY THE SAME DIMENSIONS AS A CROSS-SECTION OF SAID RELATIVELY RIGID OUTER CONTAINER WHEREBY SAID BRACING MEMBERS INTERFIT SNUGLY IN SAID OUTER CONTAINER. 